The Great Firewall

China is famous for many things, but the ones that stand out the most are probably its Great Walls, plural. If you feel confused, you are not alone. There are many people who think there is only one. The big difference between both is that the first one is physical and pretty hard to miss. The other one however is invisible to the human eye but dictates what you can see and read. I am of course talking about China’s firewall. It will disable you from using the internet like you are used to, unless you take some precautionary measures.

The Great Firewall of China saw daylight in 1998. In this year the Communist Party of China started to realize that its greatest rival, the China Democratic Party, could start up a new digital Network to strengthen its position while also undermining the authority of the Communist Party. The ruling class took swift action by abolishing the Democratic Party and arresting many of its key members.

However this didn’t subdue the governments’ fear of the internet’s as a possible breeding ground for public protest, a platform for freedom of speech or a means to spread anti-governmental campaigns. This lead officials to introduce a plan which would greatly limit the Chinese people access to international content.

Social control was the first and main reason why China introduced the Great Firewall. However it didn’t take long before other benefits were discovered. Two other arguments were given for the implementation of the GFW: the blocking of “sensitive content” and the protection of their national economy. Sensitive content here does not cover pornography or gory videos. Content deemed sensitive puts the communist party in a bad daylight or uncovers some of China’s darker history pages. The economic protective reasons have paid off with many domestic companies filling the shoes of international internet giants that were banished.

Now what can you expect when you arrive in China unprepared? The short answer is: not much. In the 20 years of the GFW’s existence the Chinese people and internet companies have greatly adapted to it. WeChat and Weibo have swiftly taken the place of Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. Youku Tudou and Baidu have replaced YouTube and Google respectively. Disabling international e-commerce companies to promote their services and products in China led to the rise of Chinese internet giants like Alibaba and Tencent. The Chinese digital economy has greatly benefited from the measures to protect the domestic economy but this doesn’t mean that you have to adopt the Chinese way of internet usage. All of this lead to Chinese people not missing any of the internet services we would miss. Don’t expect them to be compassionate in your struggle to update your Facebook status.

How to avoid it?

You have nothing to worry about though. From the moment China installed the Great Firewall, people started looking for ways around it. The most secure way of ensuring that you can still watch your favorite videos, connect with friends back at home and upload pictures of your adventures is by installing a VPN. A Virtual Private Network, allows your computer to connect to a foreign network. Your computer will then believe that you are in the country where the network is situated. So for example, in China you can connect to an American city’s network. Through this network you can access all the websites a citizen of this city can.

You will need a VPN for other things than social or leisurely aspects. If you are doing an internship or study program in China you will need it to perform research. Don’t expect to be able to visit Wikipedia or scholarly websites through which you can find necessary information. If you are in China for business you might need to connect to your business network back at home, this is also only available via a VPN connection. In general, performing even the simplest Google search or finding your way through Google Maps is only possible if you have a VPN connection.

Installing a VPN service on your computer is really simple. You choose a subscription period, pay the fee and you will be good to go. Prices vary but in general you will pay around 10 USD a month. It’s always useful to do a quick Google search to find out which VPN service is the best to use in China. China’s internet police can target any particular VPN business from one day to the next, so you always need to stay aware. That’s also the reason why we are not promoting any services in this article. By the time you read this, the service might already be useless in China.

An important side note. Don’t forget to also install the phone app developed by your VPN provider. It’s free and will enable you to use the VPN service on your phone as well.

A visit to China might be the perfect detox from your social media addiction. Still, installing a VPN is something you definitely need to take care of before you arrive. The basic internet commodities you know are unavailable here. Unless you want to practice your map reading skills, buy travel guides or become a pro at sign language, installing a VPN should be on your list with pre-departure preparations.

The post China’s Great Walls: Visit One, Go Around the Other with a VPN appeared first on Internships China.